…“Slogan can cause crisis”, Police warn
The Defence Headquarters, (DHQ) has urged Nigerians to prevent terrorists from having free rein in the New Year.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, called on the citizens to be security-conscious and report criminal activities in their environments to security operatives
He said, in Pidgin English: “Make Nigerians ‘no gree’ for terrorists this year. You see something-you say something; and we assure them of doing something”.
Buba joined in using the slang: ‘no gree for anybody ‘which is currently trending among youths as slang for the year. Many believe that the slang is about staying to one’s beliefs and not easily succumbing to the influence of others.
After asking Nigerians to rise against terrorists, Buba noted that the aim of the military in 2024 is to locate and destroy the terrorists wherever they were hiding.
He said, “The aim of our ongoing operations remains unchanged and clear even in the new year 2024. We aim to find and destroy the terrorist wherever they may be hiding to ensure their enduring defeat. This would deny the terrorist the ability to terrorize or hurt citizens across the country”.
He noted that military operations in the last two weeks had resulted in the killing of 86 terrorists, while 101 have been arrested. The DHQ promised that the military would take action on such tip-offs.
Unlike Buba, however, the Nigeria Police Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had on Wednesday warned that the slang was capable of plunging the country into crisis.
Recall that there have been numerous memes and posts circulating on social media that highlight the slang. The slang already has a logo, and has been inscribed on clothes and other items.
During the press briefing on Wednesday, Adejobi revealed that the Police had received intelligence suggesting that the slogan had the potential to incite a revolution within the country.
According to him, “The slogan is being seen as just a normal talk; but in security business, in the security community, we have seen it as a very dangerous slogan that can trigger crisis”.
